Hiller Donald Plumbing & Heating

J Cooch L.

CALL DON HILLER! 570-253-2485 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Saturday February 10 2024, my mom woke to a horrible noise coming from the basement, which at first, she though was outside the house. As she headed down to the basement, she said it smelled like a pack of wet dogs. As she approached the furnace, it was spraying boiling water everywhere. She went back upstairs to shut the emergency switch and called me.

When I got there, water was still pouring out onto the floor. I shut off many of the faucets and ball valves in the maze of pipes around and above the furnace and the water finally stopped after we dumped quite a few buckets or water outside.

I went back upstairs and my mom had a mailer from TE Spall & Son - Call Spall! So she called them to come out to check over the furnace.

In the mean time, my mom called my cousin on Long Island who is in this business all his life. He said it sounded like the Pressure Release Valve was the issue.

The guy from Spall showed up on February 12. They charged $170 just to come to the house as a 'Service Fee' and additional $194 for a 'Diagnostic'. ...and the guy still didn't give us an answer as to what was wrong. He stated that we should have a salesmen come out to quote us on a price to replace it all, since it is 30 years old. Even though he wasn't sure, he said if we had to replace the Pressure Release Valve and the Expansion Tank, it would cost us $475 + $579 = $1054... ON TOP OF THE $364 they were already charging just to show up and do nothing. A total of $1418. He was also pushing a 'Club Plan' that was supposed to save us money. I added it up in my head and told him it would cost way more for the 'Club Plan'!

One other thing he said, since she has 4 zones, he knows they charge an additional $1000 per zone. This pricing just seemed so outrageous to us, a good 3X what we expected or what we found in a Google search for the area. Almost forgot, they accepted the $50 coupon from the mailer.

Later that afternoon, the Salesman showed up, Steven Zazzera. He arrived to my moms before I did, since I had a doctor appointment. He already made his assessment and had pricing ready. For a replacement oil system they wanted to charge us $15,845.For a replacement Propane system they wanted to charge us $18,480.

But we could pay it over 120 months, what they call 'Ease Comfort' for $295 per month. That $35,400 over TEN YEARS!

By the way, the 16 oz propane tank ran out on the heater before I got back to my mom's house. She's 80 and has some macular degeneration. She asked Steve is he could unscrew the tank and put the new one in for her. No, he had no clue how to do it. He works for a Heating & Plumbing company! Just to do it as a nice gesture. Even before the price, that sealed the deal with them.

It rotten to try to take advantage of an elderly woman on limited income in a desperate situation. She was in a panic over the price. Sick to her stomach.

Needless to say, they were not called back. I reached out on the Angi app and another person came out. Joe Hanley from AC Absorption. Really nice guy, but he didn't work on oil systems. He did say if he had to replace it with Propane, the additional for each zone would be $200, not like the $1000 per zone Spall was quoting - SPALL WAS FIVE TIMES THE PRICE! Joe gave us quotes for Propane and electric which were reasonable, but we really wanted to see if it could be repaired.

A friend of mine, Steff, asked her friend Mike to come out to give a quote, but he couldn't show up til Friday evening. Meanwhile, I'm running three propane heaters throughout my mom's basement and house so her pipes don't freeze. It dropped down in the teens that week, after a week on the 40s and 50s. I know Mike was very honest and would have done the job properly and for a great price.

I was trying to remember the name of the company I used for my hot water tank at least ten years earlier. I was searching and searching and finally found it was Don Hiller! I remembered they were reasonably priced and really pleasant to deal with. I called Don, he got back to me at the end of the day. You just feel comfortable talking with him, like a guy you've known for years. His son came out the morning of the 15th, due to the snow storm on the 14th. Super nice guy. He was in the basement for maybe 30-45 minutes. No fee to come to the house and no fee for a 'Diagnostic'. He immediately knew it was the Pressure Release Valve and the Expansion Tank. He had both items already in his truck and replaced them in this time. A true professional.

Now for the bill. $95 for labor and $100.71 for parts. Add in tax and the entire bill was $201.75! Spall wanted us to pay 1.5X that price per month for ten years! Spall charged us $314.00 and did NOTHING!

If Spall was to change those two parts, they were 7X the price of Don Hiller. Spall is such a scam!

BETTER NOT CALL SPALL!

CALL DON HILLER! 570-253-2485 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

D F.

We discovered a leak. Within 20 hours of my calling a new Hot Water heater installed and old one removed. Very prompt, courteous service. Very reliable and excellent work. Thank you!!

Sarah P.

I had to wait for a couple of weeks till they got back to me. Don Hiller called me at 9:40 at night. He made an appt. and was late. Then they took forever to get a heater for me. I was without heat for months, till they finally got something installed. Then they installed a heater that was an old model, and didn't ever work. They wouldn't send it back on warranty and I was stuck with it.

My cat also suffered a heart attack while they were here and died in the field by my house, with all the noise they made. I couldn't find him. I found him a week later. He was fine before they got there. They gave no warning about the noise.

They made my home all dusty, and borrowed my fan, which they made all dusty as well. I'm still dealing with these problems 3 years later. Not having them back, anymore.

They also installed the heater right on the basement floor, instead of getting the proper rubber bottom for it, so it didn't rust. They are rude and act like you're lying when you try to express any problems you have with their service.

Cindy R.

Incredibly reliable plumber that I call whenever I need anything. I highly recommend Don Hiller.

Julianne V.

Our hot water heater quit and needed a new heating element. I called on a Saturday night holiday weekend and they were to our cabin by 8am Monday as promised. The work was quick and reasonably priced. We'd use their services again in a heartbeat.

Dawn F.

Came to my house (Ryan) and told me he'd get back to me with an estimate. Weeks go by. I call several times and finally Don (dad) gets back to me saying he found the shower base I needed. ""Great! What's total cost for parts/labor and when can you start?"" Ahhh......I'll get back to you he said. About 6 more calls to him and he never responded. A complete WASTE OF TIME.

John T.

Came to my house and priced a job that was reasonable. Called him for weeks without a return call. He finally called me back and promised to call me the following Monday with his availability. Never received a call. Called him 2 weeks later and told him he didn't need to call me back, as I was going to find someone else. He called me back and left a message stating he did in fact call me and left a message. He not only didn't call me, HE LIED ABOUT IT. Do not call this man or trust him!!!